Benchmark Boogie: A Guide to the Struggle Over Iraq’s Oil

On June 19, five Nobel Peace Prize recipients released a statement publicly denouncing not only the Iraq oil law, but also the pressure being applied by the U.S. Congress and the Bush adminstration on the Iraqi government to pass it.

The laureates’ statement, which has been circulated by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., to every member of the U.S. Congress, declares that “the U.S. government should leave the matter of how Iraq will address the future of its oil system to the Iraqi people to be dealt with at a time when they are free from occupation and more able to engage in truly democratic decision making. It is immoral and illegal to use war and invasion as mechanisms for robbing a people of their vital natural resources.” (You too can sign on to this statement. See below for details). read more